Battery Strife Hits Brits at 2pm

Jack Peat

61% of Brits admit they run out of phone battery EVERY DAY: leaving them stranded, lost or standing up their mates

In an age of connection, a lack of phone battery can be jarring with 6 in 10 saying it triggers a negative emotion

New research has pinpointed 2pm as the exact time by which many of us will have run out of battery

People in certain cities also seem to use their phones more than others. Londoners lose battery the fastest 12pm, followed by Mancunians (2:45pm) and Liverpudlians (3:14pm)

The average time for a phone to run out amongst 25 – 34 year olds is 10:50 in the morning, compared to the overall average of 1:50pm

Those aged over 45 don’t run out of battery until after 3pm

In an age of advancing portable technology and smartphones, staying connected to our loved ones, to our work and the world around us has never mattered more. However, new research from Huawei has shown that three quarters of people frequently run out of battery without the means to recharge straight away, leading to stress, frustration and anger.

According to the new research, losing battery means a negative physical reaction. Naturally most respondents feel disconnected when their phone battery dies, but 2 in 5 also say this causes them stress. More than 1 in 10 (12%) even feel angry – with 5% even saying that they react with sweaty palms! Academics have even named the worry around not having access to a working mobile phone – “nomophobia.”

Running out of charge has its consequences with getting lost and standing up a date amongst the possibilities.

Amongst those surveyed, getting lost is the worst thing about running out of battery, along with not being able to get home

1 in 10 even reported standing up a date because of a lost battery

Over two thirds of the 25-34 age group even claimed they’d rather be locked out of their house than have no phone battery for a day

A further 30% of 25-34-year olds would go without hot water than have their phones run out of charge

4% of those surveyed even stated they had lost a job because of running out of battery

4% also stated that they had broken up with someone or have been broken up with as a result of not being contactable, because their phone battery had run out of charge

Regional breakdown shows that those in the capital are most in need of a charge, whilst those in Aberdeen are best placed:

London topped the list as the city where phone batteries run out fastest. 35% of those surveyed in London said that they typically have to recharge by midday on most days – much earlier than other cities.

Those in Aberdeen conserve their phone battery the best, by holding off until 5:28pm to charge their phones.

When asked on whether people would donate their own battery life to someone in need provoked mixed responses. Over a third (36%) said they would be selective about who they donate to and one in five (21%) said they’d only donate if a friend had less than 2% power left. Conversely, 19% said they’d feel like a hero if they could donate to charge friends’ phones and 14% said they’d even like someone more if they donated to them.

Justin Costello, Huawei Director of Marketing, UK and Ireland, said:

“We all know the perils of running out of a phone battery, and battery strife is an issue suffered by the vast majority of our nation. At Huawei this what we mean by meaningful innovative technology to solve problems like this, which is exactly what we’ve done with the new Huawei Mate 20 Pro – not only does it have incredible battery life, it also gives you the power to charge another phone wirelessly using its unique reverse wireless charging feature.

With Christmas being one of the most sociable times of year, there is all the more scope for running out of battery, which is why we’ve launched the Recharge Your Mates campaign, so we can charge the nation when they need it most.”

If battery strife is something that affects you or your mates, you can nominate your friends who are always running low on battery by tweeting @HuaweiMobileUK tagging up to 3 mates and using the hashtag #RechargeYourMates, to be in with the chance of winning all of you a Mate 20 Pro.

The ‘Recharge Your Mates’ campaign will see Huawei traverse the country delivering charge to those cities most in need. For more information and to see where the regional recharge tour will be heading, visit www.HuaweiRechargeYourMates.com.